Emilie is laying on the grass, his helmet is off and black ooze slowly pours out his mouth. Crossbow bolts stick out of Emilie’s armor, reminders that he was in a battle with the treacherous Dark Elves. Emilie spits out the last of the black ooze, a vile concoction of Dark magic, bile and his own blood…

He passes out…

Emilie wakes up, a massive shirtless Dark Elf is standing over him, holding the head of a Grail Knight. The Hunter’s slaves surround him, holding heads and other body parts as trophies, silently giggling… It would be a louder giggle, but the Hunter had all their mouths sewn shut and sealed with wax.

“You are not worthy of death by my hand, monkey.” The Hunter utters as he tosses the Grail knight’s head onto Emilie’s chest. “You have deprived me of my rightful kill, now I will kill 1000 slaves to redeem my axe’s honor.”

Emilie watches the Hunter walk over to a pen where over a 1000 naked, beaten, slaves are. The slavers beg for mercy, for these slaves will replace those lost in the flood… The Hunter’s men knock out the slave guards and the slaughter begins…

Black…

“He’s alive? Emilie! Emilie!” Emilie opens his eyes and sees Liliane running up to him on the field. “Get Help! He’s hurt! You can’t die now! That’s not how this is supposed to end!.. You haven’t found it yet, Damn it!!” Men at arms are running towards Emilie..

Black…

Emilie wakes up, he sitting in a bed, his wounds have been bandaged up. Morikhi and Liliane are standing next to him… Emilie turns his head towards Morikhi.

“You have one chance to explain yourself, just one. I sent my army against a vastly superior foe to prevent your skull from becoming a gravy boat for a Dark Elf mass murderer.”

“I think the gravy boat treatment would be a fitting end..”

“You’re not helping Liliane…”

“I must deeply apologize for my act…”

Emilie cuts Morikhi off “I don’t give damn if you’re sorry! You didn’t spill a pitcher of milk on the floor! You violated my standing orders and took an army on an idiotic quest and got them all killed for your personal glory! Then I had to throw more men to the butcher to save you from your own stupidity….”

Liliane interrupts “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes I did.”

Morikhi looks up at both of them “Yes he did… and I did what I did to redeem our people.”

“Bull****! Redeem my ass, you stupid glory addict! I’m not going to sit in this room and listen to two knights talk about honor all damn night!” Liliane storms out of the room.

Morikhi watches her walk away. “In my day, my Lord, we did not allow women to speak to us in that matter.”

“In your day you would have been hung for treason on the spot.”

Morikhi pauses… he sighs. “That’s… probably true. I do owe you an answer… Did what I did because we, like I, have slept for hundreds of years while the armies of our enemies have grown stronger and more advanced.”

“Go on.”

“We used to laugh at the toys of the Empire, at the way they used to march around in formation… Like some comedy. We used to laugh at the Goblins, the Skaven… even the Dark Elves. (pause) Nobody laughs at them anymore. They have grown stronger while we have done nothing but talk about honor and hold pointless jousts! I wanted to prove that we were a force to be dealt with.”

Emilie sits up “You violated my orders, stole a host of men for your own personal quest because you felt that we were inferior? Are you mad?”

“You asked for my reasons, My Lord. As per my oath I shall accept any punishment you deem necessary for this transgression.”

“You will, at your own expense, build our saintly and impeccably pure Prophetess Liliane a massive wizard tower. You will build it to her requirements and demands and she will be in charge of all aspects of the design and construction.”

“I’d prefer to be hung, my Lord.”

“I’m not letting you off that easy. Get cracking, Grail Knight, you’ve got a Lady’s Waiting Room to build.”

End…